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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Ever since making the move over to natural skincare for my face via oil cleansing and LOVING it, I've decided to work other all-natural, mostly diy products into my other skincare regimens. Since so many of you ask me, and since I find myself having these all-natural skincare conversations almost daily, I've finally got enough information digested and tested out to put together a well informed post.

After trying a few different concoctions and other organic store-bought products I've settled into what works best for me and am very, very happy with the effectiveness, price point, and of course chemical-free-ness (esp. as I am hoping to bake another lil bun in the oven soon) I hope you can try some of these out for yourself, & let me know what you think of them!

BODY MOISTURIZER:
DIY: I use Fill spray bottle with oil (would recommend jojoba oil, liquid coconut oil, or almond oil), a few drops of vitamine e oil, + a few drops of your favorite essential oil (My favorites are lavender or patchouli and lime or patchouli and orange)

You can get little travel spray bottles pretty much anywhere - Target, Walmart, Dollar Stores, etc. and you can find your essential oils at any apocathery, Whole Foods, or online (I like Ananda's Apothecary but Amazon carries pretty much everything too). Whole Foods or a local apothecary is great if it's your first time buying so you can smell the samples and ask questions and talk to the store reps.

DEODORANT:

DIY: Straight up lime juice. Fill in spray bottle and refrigerate. You can either juice fresh limes or use store bought lime juice, both will work great.
A lot of store bought brands use lime or lemon juice in their deodrant already and you will find that just using lime juice will work just as well and also smells really good. I was a little doubtful and hesitant in trying this out but I am so, so happy I finally did. No more chemicals or wasting money, and I'm fresher than I ever was before, win-win-win. Seriously, try it, you'll be happy you did.

FACIAL:

DIY Oil Facial Cleanser: A post all to itself, here. & you can buy my custom facial oil cleansers here.DIY Facial Moisturizer: I don't use any moisturizers because my OCM keeps my skin properly hydrated. Sometimes I won't wipe off all the oil completely to give a little extra moisture/glow throughout the day. Of course, drinking lots of water helps too.

DIY Exfoliator: Occasionally I will use my homemade brown sugar exfoliator. This I probably do once a month, maybe a little more frequently in the winter months.

Make-Up Remover:My oil works really great at removing both eye and face make up.

Toner: Mix 2 part Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 part water. Combine in travel container, shake well, and apply to face with cotton ball after cleansing or before applying make-up. (Read more on the amazing topical benefits of apple cider vinegar here).

SOAP:

I love Beau Savon's handmade soaps, which have all natural ingredients and contain no preservatives or lather enhancers. They smell amazing and there are so many different kinds to choose from but some my favorites are Champagne Swizzle, Crimson & Clover, European Blend, & Milk & Honey. (Great to give away as gifts too - these are beautifully packaged and can buy 4 or 5 bars at a time for discounts).
Also currently loving the castile soap from Dr. Bronner's. This stuff is amazing & just a little goes a very long way!

HAIR:

Shampoo & Conditioner: I use Pureology (the purple bottle, "Hydrate" line) which is absolutely ah-maz-ing. It contains NO sulfates and is 100% vegan and still top notch salon quality. It is on the more expensive side, but it totally pays off. One bottle will last you forever. You just need a very very small amount to get a really good lather and it leaves your hair so, so incredibly soft & sleek.

Deep Conditioner: Coconut Oil once every month or so.

Styling products:Moroccan oil. This is the only product I use in my hair and am a huge spokesperson for it -- It is full of protein to strengthen your hair, omega-3 oils and vitamins for shine, as well as antioxidants. You can work a tiny, tiny bit through damp hair and then blow dry to lock in moisture and nutrients, and it will simultaneously serve as a stylizing & volumizing agent as well.

NAILS:

Not all my nail polish is organic or vegan, but I recently started on two new, non-toxic, vegan-friendly brands, Butter & Scotch Naturals and love them both A LOT. Favorite Butter brand color: Yummy Mummy. How appropriate. Favorite Scotch brand colors: Roasted Mellow and Neat. You can find acetone-free removers now at mostly all convenient stores now but Butter also manufactures a nail polish remover pack that is acetone-free with more favorable scents like pina colada or almond, and Scotch a soy polish remover.

MAKE-UP:

You should note that I very rarely wear make up anymore these days. I love, love make up, but since becoming a mom, and staying home with Landon, I really only put make up on when we go out socially on the weekends.

I have a lot of make-up, and not all my make-up is chemical-free {yet} but I will run you through my favorite products that I use most often:

Foundation:

Currently using up my Bobbi Brown foundation stick (not organic/vegan) which I really like, but have problems smearing something all over my face that is not 100% organic or vegan. It does however work really, really well, and was about $45, so am just finishing the stick. I put a little bit of my facial oil on my face first before applying so it blends better and moisturizes, and looks more natural.

I also use Lush powder foundation which is vegan and made with jojoba oil. Will also add in a little bit of my oil mixture to this to make this a more of a tinted moisturizer, which comes out amazing.

For a basic chapstick at night with no color I use plain old petroleum jelly as well as Lansinoh lanolin. I know that sounds kind of gross but it is the purest thing out there and safe for even the tiniest of babies to ingest and works really well to moisturize and protect severely dry lips/skin.

FOR BABY:

Bath Wash & Shampoo:Everyday Shea.This stuff is only $10 for 32 fl oz and a little goes a verrry long way. I've had this now for months and we still have a long way to go. It smells absolutely amazing, made up from shea leaf to moisturize & soften lil baby's sensitive skin. I love the blend of this lemon, eucalyptus, and mint for a really nice, invigorating yet also calming scent.

Also use this same brand for shampoo, either lavender or vanilla mint scented. Again, a tiny bit goes a long way. I used to buy Landon new toiletries almost every single week but since switching over to Everyday Shea, I haven't had to buy him wash or shampoo in months.

Moisturizer:Landon has ezcema so we use an intense moisturizer, Hydrolatum which I absolutely love. It is super moisturizing, and made up entirely of petroleum and purified water. It works especially well for eczema flair ups and is gluten free, steriod free, peanut free, and alcohol free. And it doesn't leave behind the greasy residue that you get with Aquaphor or Eucerin. Great, great product :)

Diaper Cream:Burt's Bees all the way. I've tried every single ointment out there (organic and non-organic) and Burt's Bees works the best by FAR and also smells so, so good. If you are looking for all-natural, some mamas like the organic Budreaux's Butt Paste - I haven't had much luck with it but I know it's popular amongst other health/product conscious mamas. I've also heard lots of mamas using Coconut Oil for diaper rash, this hasn't worked well for us but reportedly does for some.

Got any other all-natural diy or vegan products that you currently use & love? Please leave a comment and share! I'd love to hear more :)

Also, if you are interested in learning more about why you should make the move from conventional OTC skincare products and cosmetics to all-natural DIY products or certified vegan/organic products, please watch this short youtube video:

Landon caught a cold last week and of course by default that means it gets passed onto me too. I've been researching some good herbal teas to make recently and saw this one to help soothe sore throats that is so, so good, and so easy to make, and my throat was instantly better within the day.

What you'll need:- 1 tea bag of herbal tea (any kind you want - I used a de-caffinated black tea with orange and spices).- 1 spoonful (or approximately 1 tablespoon) of unrefined coconut oil.- 5 whole cloves (or two pinches ground cloves).- Honey (however much you would normally use to sweeten, I use approximately 1 teaspoon). 3 Easy Steps:1. Brew your cup of herbal tea. 2. Drop the cloves into your mug (or if you are using loose tea put them into your tea ball and brew your tea).3. Stir in honey & coconut oil. Drink almost to the bottom, but don't drink/choke on the cloves ;) Keep this recipe in your back pocket for the next time you are sick or have a sore throat, you'll thank me later!*My favorite lil honeypot that took me two years to find: here :)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

All you busy mamas will definitely be thanking me for introducing Ink Cards into your life. This is a free app that can be downloaded on your iphone (or android) that lets you choose from a number of different greeting cards for any occasion, and then lets you personalize your card to your recipient. You can type in your own greeting or thoughtful message, upload your own photos from your phone if you want, and then type in your recipient's address and they will receive your card in the mail, & all for just $1.99. That's with postage included! No more last minute trips to the store for the belated birthday or congratulatory cards, rummaging through your house for stamps, trips to the mailbox, and spending hours trying to pick out the perfect card. All this is now at the convenience of your fingertip. The quality of their cards are really great and their designs are super cute. I ordered a test Valentine's Day card for Chris and I already got it in the mail and can't get over how adorable it is.

Since I love this product so much, Inked has agreed to give Mumma's Corner's readers 10 free cards (postage included!) with promo code "mummascorner" or simply by clicking on this link below:

Monday, January 28, 2013

You may have seen this latest sensation everyone's been buzzing about, the new Vine App. The app allows you to record short 6-second videos on your iphone very easily, there's no editing required on your part, you just hold down your finger on the screen to record, lift your finger off the screen during any "dead time," then hold your finger back on the screen to pick up recording, and then it ties them all together in one video. The app allows you share them to your feed just like instagram, only instead of pictures, they're little mini-videos.
We already consume so much screen time in between twitter, facebook, pinterest, and instagram. I'm wondering if we can even handle another social media platform like this. It’s been very interesting to witness all these platforms emerge, become more popular, and overlap with each other. We used to tweet our thoughts, now most of us just tweet our instagrams and posts. We used to create personal facebook albums for events and times in our lives, now we post check-ins and our instagrams or mobile pics. And now this app has brought us to a whole new level into someone's life...We are literally watching video feeds of people's lives and hearing them talk. (This took me a little while to figure out but there is sound, just turn your phone from vibrate to ringer). Are thoughts and photos simply not enough for us anymore? It seems we're always wanting something more, something better, but technology is moving faster than we can keep up with ourselves. At first glance, this all felt a bit too much. I thought, I don't have enough time for something else! But it intrigued me. I created an account and posted my first video, and I was hooked. This thing was very cool. I'm big on taking home videos, but I've definitely been slacking the past year or so. My flip video doesn't make it out with me everywhere and my iphone videos takes up too much free space on my phone, so this app seemed brilliant to me. It definitely sparked some creativity and I'm really excited to see how other people will use this to market their brands and sites. But I do know the app has a issues with people posting pornographic video clips, so maybe this will turn into the myspace for iphone apps and fizzle out, I don't know.
I'm still getting the hang of this app, I think the concept is really cool but its features are still a bit wonky and I'm interested to see how it updates. Can I share to facebook or email it to someone, or save it to my phone or computer? Will there be filters in the future? Will we be able to find friends to follow/import from facebook and instagram? Or is it going to stay exclusive to Twitter? Will they start censoring the porn problem?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this new app-sensation, & if you're interested, you can follow my videos at @lisabauman. Let me know what you all think of this & if you're on the bandwagon, give me your username so I can have some people on my feed too :)

**Edit -- This was old page that I'm republishing as a post ...just trying to reorganize my site a little bit without losing this content.

My husband and I have way too much fun with our little honeybunny. We bought the Flip camera recorder when he was only 3 months old to make sure we got lots of home videos taken to look back on. Not knowing where the past 10 months went, I am SO happy we got this. I want to make a point of recording lots of little everyday occurrences (not just holidays & birthdays, but of course I will be documenting those as well) because I feel like that's really where you capture some of the most humorous & memorable moments. These are in order of most recent - oldest. Hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we enjoy living them :)

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

2013 is the year I've decided to start partnering with other companies and blogs for sponsorship and advertisement. I'm careful to only work with people and companies that are a good fit with Mumma's Corner blog and lifestyle and will never host a giveaway, have a guest post, or promote a company or blog that I am not truly passionate about myself. On that note, I'm very excited to share with you some wonderful mamas and companies that I truly love, and am very excited to have here in my Corner.

Shabby Apple is a vintage-inspired women's clothing company that offers tons of super chic and classic pieces, from dresses to bathing suits to jewelry and accessories, it has everything you need to look and feel like you're a star on Mad Men. Some of my current favorites: this, this, & these. *Shop now through 1/31 for 20% off their entire site with promo code "NewYears"

Meet Tracy from Someday Sunday. Tracy is a sweet mama to beautiful 9 month old girl Harlow Paige (awesome name right). Love spending time in her blog where she documents the challenges and joys of a modern young family and heading back to work after 9 months of staying at home with her little one. So much in store for this little family of three!

Meet Ariel from Dreams to Do. Ariel is one amazing working mama to two little ones with perhaps the most adorable family in the Pacific Northwest. Love her sense of humor & she is a very talented writer with an honest approach on motherhood and celebrating a life outside parenting focused on dreams, ambitions, and living a life worth living.

Meet Kami from The Momma Diaries. Kami is open and honest and holds nothing back here, where mostly every mother can relate and find comfort and support in her stories, in areas we don't always talk about ourselves. You are sure to enjoy her site and 'diary entries' about trying to conceive baby #2 and growing their little threesome into a family of four.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Hello again friends :) Top Baby Blogs has reset their rankings, & if you enjoy spending time in my little corner of the world I would please ask you that VOTE for us (it's just one quick click! & if you really want to show your love you can keep voting, once every 24 hours). I really hate asking but I promised I will only ask when they reset their ranks. & it's that time of year again so I'm kindly asking :) We really appreciate all your support!

Oh and also, quick update, THIS has begun:

We're slowly introducing it and not doing the 3-days-no-pants thing {yet} but if you have any advice or tricks let us in on it!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Cleaning out my iphone & posting some pics from our Christmas vacation out east & some random recent photos. Most of these pics have already been posted to my instagram (@lisab3) but for those of you who aren't on IG, here you go:

Landon really surprised me and was literally the best flyer ever. He was obsessed with wheeling around his new luggage from mimi & grandpa, waited patiently in line at security, was fascinated at looking out the airplane window at all the planes and trucks, & then as soon as the engines started he passed out for the duration of the flight. I know.

First night out @ the annual Cliff Doggie Christmas Party

Good times with good friends at Our 'Friendsmas' <3

Met my cousin's baby Ayden for the first time. Landon was abs smitten and so sweet towards him. Def ready to be a big broder.

The flight back to Chicago. The best little traveler once again.

Christmas with Chris' side of the family. Chris as Santa Claus was a little scary.

Busy first week of January: Coffee dates & meetings all week, designed a new button for my blog by night, then slept in nice & late Saturday morning & woke up to fresh brewed coffee from the hubs. It's the little things.